Electrofreezing
Electrofreezing is a process by which the crystallization of water and other liquids during the freezing process can be triggered in a targeted manner by applying an electric field . This physical phenomenon has been known since 1861.
When freezing liquids, a distinction is made between two parameters :
- the cooling rate, it can be easily controlled externally
- the time of nucleation or crystallization; it is rather random to a certain extent and can be influenced by an electric field and thus by electrofreezing.
Electrofreezing could play a role in cryonics , the freezing and preservation of living beings, since the formation of ice crystals in this process irreversibly damages the tissue .
At present, crystallization of the water at very low temperatures can be avoided by vitrification .